Bock Beer | Rivertown Brewery & Barrel House

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Reviews by deadonhisfeet:

Poured from a bottle into a mug. The appearance is extremely disappointing. Nice color, but very little carbonation and practically no head at all. Bock is supposed to have a beautiful ``bloom'' and this stuff looks dead. The nose is just fine, though a bit faint due to the complete lack of carbonation. Nice bready, toffee-like notes that tell me, despite the lackluster appearance, this IS a bock.

The flavor is traditional and malt-forward. I get nice caramel, bready, malty notes and a nice medium-firm mouthfeel. Unfortunately, the hops are far too noticeable and I get a lemony tint to the flavor that comes in at mid-palate, making the beer seem slightly off-balance. The finish is kind of bland and nothing much lingers except for the lemony hop character.

A rather disappointing offering from a local brewery. Not bad, just nothing to write home about. I won't buy this again. It cannot even sit on the same shelf as a classic like HB Maibock.

Very much a bock in our glasses and not for much longer; even for its size, it presents itself as a very drinkable beer. The warmth does catch up after a while. A real treat to run into, we can really appreciate the deft hand(s) it took to create this malt bomb.

Enjoyed from a 12 oz bottle, this most excellent bock from Rivertown pours a beautiful amber with a thick off white soapy foam and clinging lacing. Nose of browned toast, raisin, light herbal hops, and sweet caramel malts. Flavors follow the nose with rich caramel and fresh bread like notes, mixed with a pleasant nutty characteristic and mild herbal hop in the background. One of the better bocks I have had this year. SOLID.

Appearance: Hazy orange-amber with lots of bubbles coming up through the beer. Thin off-white head. Some small strands of lacing that would slide back down the glass to the original head.

Smell: Bit of caramel upon first poured, but then after awhile the smell goes away completely - almost odorless. With a very deep inhale I can pick up a tiny bit of noble hops and some of the caramelized malt again.

Taste: Up front a mix of toasted malt, caramel, and something metallic. Moves quickly to a burnt sugar, herbal/spicy hop finish with some lingering mild sweetness.

Mouthfeel: Highly carbonated - fizzy. Some stickiness to the teeth.

Overall / Drinkability: Hmm....just okay I think. Maybe it would be better with food. By itself nothing special and I've had better bocks. Tasty enough, but everything together leaves something to be desired.

12oz bottle poured into a snifter. Pours a dark plum/amber, head fades pretty quickly, not much lacing. I like the aromas, lots of banana and dark fruits. Huge breadiness. There's also alot of caramel in the mix. I can really taste the caramel and lots of malts. There's a nice spiciness, but it's on the subtle side. Hops seem to take a backseat. Mouthfeel is fine, but very light when being told it's full bodied. Carbonation is fine, maybe on the higher side, but still smooth. Alcohol goes unnoticed.

Rivertown's Bock pours a beautiful dark amber with highlights of orange and red. The beer is mostly clear with a little bit of haze and has a two-finger head that quickly recedes to a cap of foam and leaves minimal lacing. The carbonation from the bottom of the glass indicates that maybe this beer is a little undercarbonated. Eh. Average.

Rivertown's Bock is a straight malt bomb on the nose. Descriptors that come to mind are toffee, caramel, dark bread, dark fruit, some grassy/spicy hops, and a little alcohol in the background. While this beer has a nice aroma, there aren't nearly enough hops to balance out the sweetness. The sweetness becomes nearly cloying as the beer warms. Overall though, a fairly nice smell.

The taste on this is very nice, but as mentioned, the sweetness is a little overwhelming - maybe that's because I've been on an IPA kick. The toffee and caramel, as well as dark bread and dark fruit are all over the palate with a very slight spicy hop note on the finish. There's only enough hop presence to stave off the crazy amount of sweetness in this brew. Not bad, but this is not a sessionable beer because of the sweetness.

The mouthfeel is where this beer really struggles, I think. While it wants to be fairly creamy and medium-bodied, the beer is just a little uncarbonated and has a slightly thin and watery body. It's not too dry, and the sweetness in the finish makes this a bit of a sipper.

While not bad, this beer needs a heftier mouthfeel, more carbonation, and a little more hop presence to stave off the presence of the sweetness. Overall, this is a solid take on the bock style, and one of the better American interpretations of the style.

The color is a watery looking caramel brown with light cloudiness. It poured a disappointingly weak head, just a brief flash of bubbles that skim out quickly. As the glass is tipped whilst drinking, some foam forms a half moon along an inside portion of the glass. Hardly any lace.

My first impression of the first sip is that Bock might shape up to be an uncommon Rivertown beer; you know, one that's actually good. The flavor was malty and rounded out with a very mild hop suggestion. Things turn a bit dicey mid sip, however; it's then that I noticed a body that desperately wants to be a robust medium, but it thinnish and watery. Carbonation isn't over the top in term of quantity, but the quality is far lower than it should be for such a deliberate beer as a bock. Similar to the body, the carbonation is thin, weak and lacks depth. As the first sip finishes, I detect something of a strange fruitiness in back. Overall, the first sip set me up to be disappointed.

Subsequest sips find the flavors to take a turn back toward "better than not good" territory. Thankfully, the malts pull rank over that of hops and fruity what have you, and, luckily, Rivertown managed to work up an acceptable malt bill.

Though the feel never recovers, I think Rivertown actually has a decent beer of a traditional style to tweak and improve upon. Tinker with the taste and nail down the feel and they'll have a pretty decent bock.

Appearance - a murky caramel/brown brew. Extremely bubbly, three fingers at least. Fades back to a half-finger and holds there due to quite a bit of bead from underneath.

Aroma - powdery, grainy malts, not much more.

Taste - decent malts to start. A little sourish tasting but a bit of toast too. A mild brown sugar taste that comes across kind of funky. After a few sips, the malty side begins to dominate. The swallow has a nice abv warmth in the throat.

Mouthfeel - way too bubbly, interferes with the flavor, inhibiting the sweetness. I like the smoothness, though, and it has a good body on it.

Pours a medium brown color with a white head and some lacing, Aroma of malted barley and a slight fruity sweetness. The taste is malty, and a bit of dark bread and raisin. Good flavor for a bock and the fruit in the taste is quite nice. A hint of alcohol around malty sugars and a bit of hops. Finishes with sweet malt. Overall, this is a pretty good brew, a bit sweet, but drinkable for sure.

First time I had anything from RT. Drank 5 in a row, was very tasty! Usually never drink that many. Full flavored bock, not overly sweet, well balanced. It had a nice dark amber color, slightly ruby. Didn't pour it aggressively, but it still had a nice foamy head, Ok lacing. Will buy again! Good job Rivertown!